tbc Building and Grounds

Building Update: Wed., Jan 8

Around the Building—Things You Want to Know

The pastoral staff and the B&G Committee are managing the impact of this week’s inclement weather and the City’s loss of water.  

  • The Child Care Center is taking appropriate actions to address their specific needs, and we are working to support them in every way we can.  
  • Our sidewalks were pre-treated.  Vincent is monitoring for ice every day, adding more salt where needed.  
    Because we have an area with less sun on the sidewalks surrounding the building, we ask that everyone be careful if you are outside of the church or child care center.
  • The flooring in the atrium area is wet, and the water will continue due to the snow and ice on the glass roof.  We hope to get the roof repair completed over the next couple of months, waiting for Dominion Energy to replace an alley electrical pole for the alley power line to be higher.  
    For now, we prefer that everyone use the church office entrance until the snow and ice on the roof are gone.
  • A couple of weeks ago, the closure for the Meadow Street glass door broke.  We are still waiting for the part to come in for that door to be repaired.
    We are asking that you do not use the Meadow Street entrance until the door is repaired.  Again, we prefer that everyone use the church office entrance until the repair is complete.

The pastoral staff and the B&G Committee will confer on Wednesday at noon to consider next steps related to the lack of water in the building.  The church was closed on Tuesday as a safety measure.  We will give Vincent time to assess the whole building after water service is restored to be sure all systems are working properly.  Once that assessment is completed, we will decide how to move forward day by day.  Understanding that there is a need to boil water that is consumed, we are taking every precaution for all users of our buildings.  Please look for updates on our website for our next steps in the use of the buildings.

Your understanding and continued prayers are appreciated.

tbc Abundant Community

Richmond under immediate boil water advisory + building closed Tuesday

IMPORTANT WEATHER RELATED UPDATE: The church buildings will be closed on Tuesday, January 7, due to lack of safe water.

IMMEDIATE BOIL WATER ADVISORY

RICHMOND, Va. — The City of Richmond has issued a boil water advisory immediately and until further notice for all residents.

This advisory comes after a winter weather storm-related loss of power Monday impacted the City’s water reservoir system, causing the system to temporarily malfunction. Capacity restoration services are currently underway, per the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).

Some may experience a total loss of water service, while others may experience varying degrees of loss in water pressure. Residents in Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover counties are not impacted by the boil water advisory.

Once the water system is back online, DPU personnel will begin the process of flushing the system and ensuring that the water is safe to drink.

Below is a checklist for safe water use during this time:

Do not drink tap water during this boil water advisory.

Do not drink from water fountains in parks, public or private buildings that receive water from the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities.

Do not use ice made from water today. Discard the ice and sanitize the ice machine and/or ice trays. This also applies to water and ice dispensed directly from a refrigerator.

Do not use tap water to make drinks, juices, or fountain soft drinks.

Do not wash your dishes using tap water – use boiled water or use paper plates for the next few days.

Do not wash your fruits and vegetables with tap water – use boiled or bottled water.

Do not brush your teeth with tap water – use boiled or bottled water.

Do not cook with tap water, unless your food will be boiled vigorously for three minutes.

Temporary water conservation tips:

Eliminate or shorten shower times.

Avoid unnecessary toilet flushes,
Avoid washing clothes for as long as possible.
Postpone washing dishes if possible.

Check all faucets, showerheads and under cabinets for drips.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.

tbc Abundant Community

MISSION OPPORTUNITY IN HUNGARY

Doug and Lea Coppage are looking for people to help with next summer’s Baseball Camp in Vác, Hungary! The camp will be Monday, June 30, through Saturday, July 5; the trip would be (approximately) Friday, June 27, until Tuesday, July 8.

These are the kind of people we’re looking for:
1. 8-12 year olds who play baseball/softball,
2. their parents
3. any age ball players
4. chaperones
5. people interested in helping in any way.

Please ask God whether you might take part in this. If you do, contact pastor@tbcrichmond.org

Date Details:
Friday, June 27 at the latest: FLY to Hungary
Saturday, June 28: ARRIVE in Hungary
Sunday, June 29: REST, PREP for camp
Monday-Saturday, June 30 – July 5, 2025: CAMP
Sunday, July 6: Go to church in Budapest AND/OR Budapest tour.
Monday, July 7: Budapest tour OR fly back to the States.
Tuesday, July 8: fly back to the States.

tbc Building and Grounds

Building 4 Hope

Building & Grounds Update

TBC has been accepted to participate in an exceptional program to guide us in how we utilize our church facilities to further our mission to serve God in our community.  How we got accepted for this year’s grant program is a story of divine intervention.  We thank Tracy and Jay Hartman for linking us to the right people at the right time to be added to the group of churches in this cohort, when the list of churches to included had apparently already been selected.  God has once again provided more light for us and our work at the corner of Grove and Meadow. We thank God for this incredible opportunity.

About Building for Hope
Building for Hope is a two-year program for churches and their leadership, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. The program guides congregations through a journey of repurposing their underutilized facilities and other physical assets – in order to advance each congregation’s mission. The program is a response to the epidemic of underutilized church facilities across the US; by reorienting these spaces, congregations and their surrounding communities are equipped to flourish.

TBC has been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort which officially begins in early 2025. The pastor and two lay leaders will make up our retreat team. That team will travel to Alexandria, VA for three cohort meetings: February 20-22, May 15-17, and October 16-18. We will be assigned a coach who will walk with our team through the two-year process. In the second year, the coach will work with TBC to help us discern how God is calling us to better utilize our facilities, and then to form and implement a plan.  Except for transportation to Alexandria, there will be no cost to TBC or our team members to participate in this program. 

We will keep everyone informed as we learn more about this exceptional program. Look for updates in the TAB, Business Meetings, and special announcements.  Please direct any questions you may have to Donna Soyars at soundsidedfs@gmail.com or to Sterling Severns.  Your ongoing support will make a difference!

tbc Worship & Fellowship

Christmas Basket Ministry

This Saturday is our annual Christmas Basket Community Ministry, and you’re invited to come be part of this meaningful day! While the tradition of providing holiday meals continues, this year will look a little different as we live out our values of hospitality and dignity in new ways.

Instead of packing baskets, we’re offering neighbors the opportunity to choose the ingredients that best suit their needs—just as we normally do in the food pantry. Choice matters because it honors our neighbors’ preferences and experiences.

There are so many ways to be involved, and not every job requires heavy lifting! We need help with set-up, guiding neighbors through their selections, carrying groceries, and—just as importantly—offering a warm smile, a listening ear, and a spirit of welcome.

Come be part of this special day of connection, care, and joy. Together, we’ll share the love of Christ in the way we welcome and serve one another.

How Can I Participate? Sign Up Here

 1.   Volunteer to help prepare baskets and other Community Ministry food on Friday, December 20.  

  • The heavy lifting team will meet at 9:30am at Aldi (927 Meyer St). Strong muscles and trucks needed!
  • Join the set up team at 10am at Tabernacle. There’s a job for every ability level!
  • Stick around to help with some additional projects: Epiphany stars, organizing, etc

2.   Join us Saturday, December 21 as we welcome our neighbors for breakfast, choice pantry and Christmas Basket distribution. 7:30am to 1pm

3.   Commit to praying for our neighbors receiving baskets. Join me in praying for the invitation that will be extended around each table.  Pray that the host and participants will recognize belonging. Pray that our neighbors will see Christ as they engage with those around their table. Pray for the lonely that they will be comforted. And pray that doors will be opened through relationships.

tbc Abundant Community, Coppages, Life of the Community, Mission

Summer Mission Opportunity in Hungary

Doug and Lea Coppage are looking for people to help with next summer’s Baseball Camp in Vác, Hungary! The camp will be Monday, June 30, through Saturday, July 5; the trip would be (approximately) Friday, June 27, until Tuesday, July 8.

These are the kind of people we’re looking for:
1. 8-12 year olds who play baseball/softball,
2. their parents
3. any age ball players
4. chaperones 
5. people interested in helping in any way.

Please ask God whether you might take part in this. If you do, contact pastor@tbcrichmond.org

Date Details:
Friday, June 27 at the latest: FLY to Hungary
Saturday, June 28: ARRIVE in Hungary
Sunday, June 29: REST, PREP for camp
Monday-Saturday, June 30 – July 5, 2025: CAMP
Sunday, July 6: Go to church in Budapest AND/OR Budapest tour.
Monday, July 7: Budapest tour OR fly back to the States.
Tuesday, July 8: fly back to the States.

tbc Worship & Fellowship

Adult Reflection Guide: Romans 5:1-11

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11, Duet by Jessica C. and Clara, Sermon by Rev. Sterling W. Severns

Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)

Reflection Questions

1. Facing Resistance: Reflecting on Our Discomfort

The pastor acknowledged his initial resistance to Paul’s teachings, especially the perception of Paul’s arrogance. This resistance is something we often experience when faced with uncomfortable truths that reveal our own vulnerabilities. Paul’s writings, especially in Romans, challenge us to embrace grace over pride, and to let go of the need to control or judge. It is in releasing our resistance that we find transformation.

Quotes:

  • “God’s grace is not a gift we can earn by being strong; it is a gift we receive by admitting our weakness.” — From the sermon
  • “The arrogance that pushes back against grace is the same arrogance that resists transformation. The sooner we surrender it, the sooner God can work in us.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

  • When have you resisted a difficult truth in your spiritual journey, and what did that resistance reveal about your own need for control or comfort?
  • How does embracing the reality of God’s grace change your view of Paul’s teachings and how you relate to others?

2. Suffering as a Path to Growth

Paul teaches that suffering is not a curse but a pathway to growth and transformation. As Paul writes in Romans 5:3-4, “suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” This chain reaction is how God shapes us through hardship. Instead of seeing suffering as something to avoid, Paul invites us to see it as an opportunity to grow deeper in our faith and trust in God’s love.

Quotes:

  • “We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” — The Message paraphrase of Romans 5:3-4
  • “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.” — William Barclay

Reflection Questions:

  • How do you typically respond to suffering—do you avoid it or embrace it as part of the journey?
  • Can you think of a time when suffering produced growth or deepened your hope in God?

3. God’s Presence in Suffering

One of the key themes of the sermon is that God is not distant or uninvolved in our suffering but walks alongside us through it. Paul understood this deeply, having endured great personal suffering. His message is that God doesn’t cause suffering, but God is present within it. This reframes how we view hardship—not as something to escape but as a place where we can encounter God’s love most powerfully.

Quotes:

  • “God is most present in our suffering, not to fix it, but to walk with us through it. It’s in those moments that we find the deepest sense of God’s grace.” — From the sermon
  • “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 5:5, NRSV

Reflection Questions:

  • How has your understanding of God’s presence during suffering changed over time?
  • When have you felt God’s closeness during a difficult season in your life?

4. Justification: Being Grounded in God’s Grace

Justification, as explained in the sermon, is about God “putting us in our place”—not to humiliate or punish, but to ground us in grace. Whether we find ourselves feeling superior or inferior, justification reminds us that we all stand equal before God, with our feet firmly planted on the same ground of grace. Paul’s message is clear: we are all recipients of God’s love, and that levels the playing field.

Quotes:

  • “Justification is God putting us in our place—firmly on the ground, not hovering above others or sinking below. We all stand equal in God’s grace.” — From the sermon
  • “It’s not about what we do; it’s about what God has done for us.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

  • Where do you feel ungrounded or out of balance in your life? How might God be calling you to find your footing in grace?
  • How does seeing yourself and others through the lens of God’s grace change your interactions with others?

5. Endurance Leading to Hope

The sermon emphasizes that endurance isn’t just about getting through hardship, but about being transformed by it. Paul teaches that through endurance, our character is refined, and that character leads to a hope that will not disappoint us. This hope is rooted in God’s love—a love that doesn’t falter in the face of suffering, but is strengthened by it. Endurance, then, becomes a spiritual practice, not just a survival tactic.

Quotes:

  • “Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us.” — Romans 5:3-5, NRSV
  • “Hope is not a feeling; it is a decision to trust in God’s love, even when we cannot see the way forward.” — From the sermon

Reflection Questions:

  • Where in your life do you need to cultivate more patience and endurance? How can you lean into the process of growth even when it feels slow?
  • How has God shaped your character through the challenges you’ve faced? How does that give you hope?

6. Peace Beyond Understanding

The peace Paul speaks of in Romans 5:1 isn’t just the absence of conflict—it’s a profound sense of reconciliation with God, a peace that permeates our entire being. This peace, described in the Greek word eirene, points to a state of wholeness and restoration that goes beyond what we can intellectually understand. It’s the kind of peace that, as the woman in the pastor’s story described, resides “in the gut” and transforms our outlook on life.

Quotes:

  • “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us.” — Romans 5:1-2, The Message
  • “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God in the midst of chaos.” — Paraphrased from the sermon

Reflection Questions:

  • How have you experienced a deep, lasting peace in your life, one that goes beyond mere calm or absence of stress?
  • What steps can you take to seek a deeper peace in your relationship with God and others?

7. The Pharmacy Story: A Journey from the Head to the Gut

In the pharmacy, the woman’s story reflects a powerful journey of healing—one that moves from the intellectual understanding of suffering to a deeper, more embodied peace. She begins by touching her head, the site of her tumor, acknowledging where her suffering began. Then she speaks of the peace she felt in her heart—a peace that came after surgery and recovery. But months later, her description of peace had moved even deeper, down to her gut. This profound shift symbolizes more than just healing from illness—it reflects a deep, embodied understanding of God’s peace, beyond emotion, rooted in lived experience.

This story beautifully parallels the movement of faith from intellectual belief to heartfelt trust and finally to an embodied knowing that transcends mere feeling. The woman’s peace in her gut, as the pastor describes, is akin to the peace that Paul speaks of in Romans 5:1-5, a peace that results from enduring suffering and growing in hope.

Quotes:

  • “I had this understanding in my life of what it meant to have the good life and kind of this peace. It was right here in my heart. But now I’m discovering this peace that is here, in my gut.” — From the sermon
  • “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” — John 14:27, NIV

This deeper, gut-level peace is not just an emotional state; it is a knowing that transcends intellectual understanding and reaches the core of our being. It is the kind of peace that comes after we have walked through suffering and emerged with a renewed sense of God’s presence.

Reflection Questions:

  • The woman’s journey from head to heart to gut represents a deepening of her understanding of peace. How does this progression resonate with your own experience of peace?
  • Have you ever moved from understanding something intellectually to knowing it deep within your being? How did that shift change your outlook or your faith?
  • What does it mean to you to have peace in your “gut”—a peace that goes beyond mere feelings or thoughts and becomes something you embody in your daily life?
tbc Staff

A brief History of Baptist work in Liberia

A couple of weeks ago, we introduced Rev. Rancy Zarr, our Pastoral Intern from Union Presbyterian Seminary. This week, we are blessed to learn more about the church he Pastors in Liberia.

________________________________

The Baptist work in Liberia began in 1821 with the arrival of Lott Carey, a freed slave from Virginia who became a Baptist preacher. Carey was a trailblazer in spreading the Baptist faith in Liberia and played a crucial role in the education and empowerment of the local population.

Upon his arrival in Liberia, Carey, along with Teage and other Baptist missionaries, established the Providence Baptist church in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. This marked the beginning of a long and enduring relationship between the Baptist church and the people of Liberia.

 Over the years, the work of the Baptist church in Liberia expanded beyond Monrovia to the countryside, with the Southern Baptist Convention playing a key role in spreading the gospel to areas like Sinoe and Grand Gedeh counties. This helped to reach more people and bring them into the fold of the Baptist faith.

One significant milestone in the history of the Baptist church in Liberia was the laying of the cornerstone of the Grace Baptist church on August 18, 1961. The church was erected that same year and was governed by rotational pastors from the Grace Baptist Church in Greenville, Sinoe county. Founding members like Deacons Albert T White, Nehemiah Gibson, Harper S. Billy, Jack Gbagba, Wannie Wilson, and David N. Brown played an important role in leading the church and ensuring its success.

Grace Baptist Church, Greenville, Sinoe County, Liberia

In 1980, Rev. Richard Saydee took over as pastor of the church, with Rev. Peter S. Zarr serving as an assistant pastor. Rev. Zarr also served as an evangelist of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention, establishing 12 churches in Lower Grand Gedeh, now River Gee County. The dedication and hard work of these two men played a crucial role in the continued growth and success of the church.

Following Rev. Saydee’s departure, the church voted in Rev. Shelton J. Seidi as pastor and Rev. Peter Zarr as assistant pastor in 1984. Together, they continued to lead the congregation through various challenges and triumphs up until the onset of the Liberian civil crisis in 1989. Despite the difficult circumstances, Rev. Shelton Seidi remained dedicated to the church and resumed his duties as pastor, and I became his assistant in 1998 when we returned from exile.

During our time serving together, Rev. Seidi and I focused on nurturing the spiritual growth of our congregation, organizing Bible studies and outreach programs, and providing support to those in need. We also organized the Grand Gedeh Baptist Association which currently has 11 churches as its members. We worked tirelessly to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where all individuals felt valued and supported in their faith.

In addition to our primary church services, we also oversaw the operations of the R. B. Richardson Baptist High School, providing quality education to young minds in our community. The school served as an extension of our mission to educate and empower individuals to reach their full potential.

Furthermore, we constructed and managed the Grace Baptist Clinic, a healthcare facility that is providing affordable and accessible medical services to the local community. This clinic is a testament to our commitment to serving the needs of those who are most vulnerable and in need of assistance.

In 2017, Rev. Seidi decided to retire from his duties as pastor, and I was humbled to take over as the new leader of our church. As the new pastor, I have strived to continue the legacy of faith, compassion, and service that Rev. Seidi had instilled in our congregation.

Throughout the years, our church has grown and flourished, thanks to the dedication and support of our members. Together, we have built a strong and vibrant community that is committed to spreading love, compassion, and bringing hope to the hopeless and  joy to all those we encounter. 

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Rancy Zarr